A special protection area (SPA) is a designation under the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the

(EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and certain particularly threatened birds. Together with

special areas of conservation A special area of conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

(SACs), the SPAs form a network of protected sites across the EU, called Natura 2000. Each SPA has an EU code – for example the North Norfolk Coast SPA has the code ''UK9009031''.

In the United Kingdom

As at 21 September 2006, there were 252 classified SPAs and 12 proposed SPAs in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Conservation (Natural Habitats etc.) Regulations 1994 implement the terms of the Directive in Scotland, England and Wales. In

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, SPAs (and SACs) designated on land or in the intertidal area are normally also notified as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), and in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

as Areas of Special Scientific Interest (ASSIs). For example, the Broadland SPA in eastern England is a conglomeration of some 28 SSSIs. SPAs may extend below low tide into the sea, and for these areas SSSI notification is not possible. In Scotland, some SPAs have been classified without any underpinning designation by SSSI.

In Poland

''Special Protection Areas'' for Birds in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

are called OSOPs (). As of 2005, there were 72 OSOP Areas designated as such.

In the Netherlands

In the Netherlands, ''Special Protection Areas'' for birds are called ''Vogelrichtlijngebied''.

In Portugal

The Castro Verde SPA extends into six municipalities of Baixo Alentejo Subregion: Aljustrel, Almodôvar Municipality, Beja Municipality, Castro Verde Municipality, Mértola and Ourique Municipality, a total area of 79,007 hectares (790 km ²).

In Spain

The Spanish term is ''ZEPA''. There were 658 Spanish sites as at 2021.

In the Czech Republic

The Czech Republic uses the term ''Ptačí oblast'' (PO, bird area) for SPAs. Between 2004 and 2009, 41 bird areas were declared by government directives. They cover 9% of the state area.

References

External links

Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979
{{Authority control Protected areas